IFHG Report 4th Quarter 2014

Co.As.It. Italian Family History Group

The Co.As.It. Italian Family History Group (IFHG) continued to provide the community with the opportunity to research, record, and celebrate Italian heritage, under the auspices of Co.As.It.

As of our 22 October 2014 event, we secured Palace Cinemas, Cinema 1, on Norton St, Leichhardt NSW as our new event home. The venue has proved to be a perfect theatre for our programs, providing a classy state-of-the-art environment. We thank Antonio Zeccola and family for their support. Aside from the amazing feel of the venue, our guests receive discounted parking at the cinema car park and / or also at the Coles shopping complex parking lot. We also have access to the theatre concession stand to purchase food and drink prior, during and after the event.

Our featured guest speakers included:

22 October 2014 (Wednesday) – Joe Avati – comedian, actor, producer.
Joe filled the theatre, upwards of 135 guests and he delivered an entertaining event full of family stories, discussed his successful career, and of course many comedic moments. The event was filmed and will be available to view sometime next year. He has been invited to speak again for us in October 2015.

19 November 2014 (Wednesday) – Cristoforo Garigliano
A lovely turn out of approximately 65 guests where Cristoforo spoke on Italian migrants from Sicily in the 1950s and 60s, with the focus on the migrants’ music, family stories and showed rare documentary films on the art of fishing in Sicily and olive picking in Calabria.

Italianicious Magazine will publish a featured article in their March /April 2015 issue about our Group, presenting the history of, and the importance of family ancestral research. Art Phillips will meet with the editor, Danielle Gullaci, early in the year in Melbourne, to finalize the review.

We have been invited to produce a 2-hour information program on 4 June 2015 at the Society of Australian Genealogists (SAG) Sydney, on the topic of: ‘effective ways to create and research your Italian family heritage’.

Our facebook page has been produced and is now live https://www.facebook.com/ItalianFHG?ref=hl where we have approximately 225 likes and have reached over 42,000 people.

We have contracted a new website and facebook maintenance person to work 2 hours per month to update information.

The IFHG have scheduled a bus trip for 11 April 2015 to ‘New Italy’ for the CARNEVALE ITALIANO FESTIVAL, which takes place on 12 April at Woodburn, NSW. The trip begins from Sydney and returns on 13 April, at a cost of $ 400 per person. Please contact our treasurer Maria Linders for information and bookings.

The IFHG held a Committee meeting on 1 November and an AGM on 9 December 2014.